Thursday, June 12, 2014

Camping Foods- Smoreos, Orange Cinnamon Rolls, and Tortilla Pizzas

We took our three kids on a camping vacation this summer that involved 4 days and three nights camping. It was time to try some of the camping foods that looked fun on Pinterest.

Switching up the S'mores:

We tried two different takes on the S'more this year- S'mOreos and using chocolate covered graham crackers.

S'mOreos: You just roast a marshmallow and instead of graham crackers you open up an Oreo cookie and put the marshmallow inside. They're still messy, but you don't have the melted chocolate factor. I personally wasn't a huge fan. They're just ok. They were a hit with my daughter. Man, camping is messy...

The chocolate covered graham crackers on the other hand are genius. I don't know about you, but it seems like whenever I make a traditional S'more the chocolate bar never fully melts. Maybe it's because I'm too impatient to get a really fully roasted marshmallow. The chocolate covered graham crackers (bought at Walmart) were perfect. They're still a mess, and I'd keep them in your camping cooler so they don't melt in the heat, but they really eliminate the hassle of putting a s'more together.

I think I burned them a tiny bit, but overall they turned out pretty well. They were easy to make. I didn't really love the cooked orange flavor on the outside of the roll. They were easier than making a cake in an orange for sure.

And on the last day for dinner we didn't want to deal with a fire, so we cooked Tortilla Pizzas on our camp stove. My kids devoured these, and they're easy to eat with their hands. Just bring the toppings you like on a pizza, spray a frying pan, and make a little pizza pocket with a tortilla instead of pizza crust.

Other camping foods I've tried before:

Red Hot Apples:
Core an apple. Put a marshmallow plug in one end. Fill with red hot candies and plug the other end with another marshmallow. Wrap in foil and cook in the fire until tender.

Banana Boats:
Peel just one side of a banana and cut a slit into the fruit all the way down. Stuff with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. Replace the peel side, wrap in foil and cook in the fire.

Tin foil dinners:
This is really a camping staple for our family. I've seen a lot of variations, but this is what we do.
On a long piece of aluminum foil, layer 1/4 lb ground beef, peeled carrots, peeled and cubed potatoes, sliced onions and 1/2-3/4 of a can of cream of mushroom soup. Really just mix it all in there. Optionally, sprinkle a packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix on top and salt and pepper. Wrap in a double layer of aluminum foil and cook on campfire coals about 40 minutes, or until carrots are done and meat is cooked through. Serve with ketchup.

Orange cakes:
Cut an orange in half and eat the flesh inside so you're left with two little orange bowls. Fill one with prepared cake mix from a box (any flavor is fine, but I have only tried a yellow cake). Place the top of the orange back on, wrap in foil, and cook in the camp fire. We did this for my birthday one year.